De Blasio: New Asphalt Plant Will Aid Pothole Blitz

Mayor Bill de Blasio filling a pothole in Queens during a press conference in February.

Agaton Strom for The Wall Street Journal

Vowing to focus on the basics of city living alongside his broader vision, Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled Wednesday a central component of his drive to rehabilitate New York City roadways: a state-of-the-art asphalt production plant.

Mr. de Blasio, flanked by transportation commissioner Polly Trottenberg and other officials, said the newly rebuilt Brooklyn facility would help fill more potholes and resurface an unprecedented number of streets.

“We’re focused on the big picture changes, the new policies, the things that we think will improve life and safety in this city,” the mayor said. “But we also know every single day, it begins with the basics; it begins with filling the potholes, resurfacing the road, making sure people can get around this city and that’s what we’re committed to.”

The five-year, $25 million upgrade of the department of transportation site on Hamilton Avenue near Red Hook allows for a 30% increase in asphalt production and 10% greater use of recycled asphalt, Mr. de Blasio said.

The plant can now yield 450 tons of asphalt per hour; the city plans to produce 500,000 tons this year with the aim of resurfacing 1,000 lane miles of road citywide, he added.

“You can truly say it’s cutting edge—this is the latest technology,” Mr. de Blasio said after touring the asphalt facility. “The bottom line is we’re going to be able to produce a lot more of it, more cheaply and in a cleaner way.”

The mayor, who took office in January, touted the progress already made in his road rehabilitation agenda, saying the city had filled 339,000 potholes so far this year.

“That is just breathtaking—more than twice as many as were filled in the same time-frame last year,” he said.

Mr. de Blasio added that his administration had prioritized road resurfacing in last week’s executive budget, allocating $225 million in capital funds for the effort alongside a further $620 million for street reconstruction.

“So we’re making a huge investment in resurfacing roads,” he said.

Ms. Trottenberg—whom Mr. de Blasio joked had taken on the nickname “the road warrior” around City Hall given the department’s ambitious plans— said the “ongoing pothole blitz and resurfacing work” were only part of a six-point plan for the city’s roads announced following her appointment.

She described the refurbished plant as “the latest weapon in the city’s fight for safer, smoother streets,” adding: “It will make the city greener and it’s going to save millions of taxpayer dollars each year.”